Behaving in the Workplace
by dna2000
Summary: Modern AU. Mary is an associate at a law firm in the City. Matthew is a partner, and Mary's boss. Rather pointless fluff.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: another fluffy little story that I thought of while watching Wimbledon (I am still unsure how the two are connected). This may stay as a one-shot, or I may write another little chapter to follow on, depending on how I feel and what people think. _

Mary looked up from her desk over to Dawn, the senior associate with whom she shared an office.

"Do you know whether Michael Hargrove is still a shareholder of Piper & Co?" Mary asked. "I need to try and get the stock transfer forms done by this afternoon."

"No idea, sorry. I haven't done much work for that company." Dawn replied, her eyes still on the computer screen and her fingers still typing away. "Why don't you ask Matthew about it? He's the one who deals with them personally."

Mary huffed. "I'd rather not, thanks. You know I don't like asking him for help." Her boss took great pleasure in making her feel rather silly whenever he could. She probably made herself a target by being so smart-arsed with him, but still. He was insufferable.

"I don't see why you dislike him so much." Dawn laughed, finally looking away from the screen. "He's so nice to everybody! Sophie's daughter was upset at school the other day and he let her go and pick her up and told her she could spend the rest of the afternoon working from home!"

"What a hero." Mary said sarcastically. "Well, he's not very nice to _me_. He's a patronising little git, in fact." She stood up, collecting her file from her desk. "I'm going to go and ask one of the paralegals to find out for me."

"Only Annabelle's here today. The other one got sent over to the litigation department because they're so busy."

"Oh thanks, litigation. Thanks _very_ much for leaving us with the incompetent one." Mary ramped up the sarcasm as she moved to leave the room.

"You're not in a very good mood today, are you?" Dawn, like most of the corporate department, had grown to find Mary's bad moods quite amusing.

"No, I'm not. My day is jam-packed and nothing is going my way." Mary replied on her way out of the door.

Mary scanned the pool of mini-cubicles in the centre of her office floor. The cubicles housed the department's paralegals and the PAs to the partners. Unable to see Annabelle, Mary asked one of the PAs where she was.

"She's in Matthew's office." Came the response.

Mary closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Was the universe out to make her life one big struggle today? She collected herself before walking over to Matthew's office. She knocked on his door firmly and entered, not waiting for an answer.

Matthew's eyes darted to her, startled. "Oh, I'm sorry, I must have not heard myself call you in." He said seriously, although his eyes revealed a teasing glint. Mary was not amused. She looked to Annabelle, who was standing nervously next to Matthew's desk; she'd always found Mary rather terrifying.

Deliberately not giving Matthew the satisfaction of acknowledging his obnoxious comment, Mary turned to the paralegal. "Annabelle, could you find out whether Michael Hargrove is still a shareholder of Piper?"

Before the girl could answer, Matthew cut in. "Why don't you just do a Companies House search? It's a fairly simple solution, I'd have thought."

She wanted to slap that condescending little smirk right off his face. "I seem to remember someone telling me not to trust Companies House with important information because the company may not have updated its entries." Mary reminded him of his own advice to her.

"That person sounds very wise. But I think we all know that Piper are quite reliable. If you're really that doubtful of their ability to send an email, however, I'm sure Annabelle can check their Register of Members." Matthew replied.

Mary scowled at him. "Come on Annabelle." She summoned the girl to follow her as she turned the leave.

"Oh and did I see a delivery of flowers arrive at your desk this morning?" Matthew called before she could leave.

"Yes, you probably did." Mary said frustratedly. Why couldn't he just leave her to get on with her job?

"I think it's highly inappropriate to have admirers send you flowers at work." Matthew said firmly.

"I know you aren't used to people finding you attractive, so I'll explain how it works- those flowers were sent to me without my prior knowledge. I didn't _ask_ for them to be sent here." Now it was Mary's turn to be patronising.

"Maybe you should tell your suitor not to do so in future." Matthew tried to hide his smile. Mary's annoyance was always quite entertaining to him.

"I'm not making any promises." Mary said drily as she left his office.

A few minutes later, Mary glanced over the information Annabelle had given her. She'd made a mistake. Mary sighed as she stomped out of her office and over to the paralegal. She stood behind the mini-wall forming one side of the cubicle, peering over the top of it.

"Annabelle, could you re-do this please?" Mary asked as politely as she could.

"What's the problem?" Mary heard the familiar male voice approach her from behind. _Not him again_. She had smelled him before she'd heard him, however.

"Don't you ever wear a different cologne?" She asked, not bothering to turn around to face him.

"Is there something wrong with it?" Matthew challenged, knowing that Mary wouldn't outrightly insult him in front of so many people.

"I like that Cologne, Matthew. It's gorgeous!" Mary glared at the young PA, Toni. She was always flirting with Matthew, boosting his ego to unmanageably titanic proportions.

"Thank you." Matthew smiled at the blonde girl. "Now what were you complaining about, Mary?"

"I was just saying, Annabelle, that you forgot to-" Mary froze momentarily as she felt Matthew's hand grope her bottom. Panicking, she looked around the cubicle pool. She realised that nobody could see anything below her chest, thanks to the cubicle wall. Swallowing, she tried to continue, "You forgot to write down how many shares he owns and-" She paused again as she felt his hand stroke up and down her buttock, before splaying his fingers and squeezing her.

Annabelle evidently misread Mary's hesitance as her trying to calm herself down because she was so angry. Flustered, the young girl immediately reached up to take the papers away from Mary. "Of course, I'm really so sorry. I'll get it back to you as soon as possible."

Matthew's hand removed itself from her rear end, giving Mary the chance to clear her head. "That would be helpful, Annabelle, thank you."

"Mary, I was wondering if I could speak to you about those transfer forms in my office, for a moment?" The voice behind her said, cool as a cucumber.

"I could spare a literal moment. I'm quite busy today." She replied, still avoiding eye contact.

"Excellent, come this way."

Mary only turned once she heard his footsteps lead away. She followed him into his office, just about resisting the urge to slam the door behind her.

"What the hell were you thinking?" She cried. "That was _so_ distracting!"

Matthew grinned as he wrapped his arms around her and lowered his head to her neck. "So I'm not allowed to touch you up anymore? You had no objections last night." His voice was low and teasing.

Mary felt herself flush- at the feeling of Matthew's mouth eagerly tasting her neck, and at the memory of what they'd done on his sofa the previous evening.

"Besides," Matthew said in between kisses, "if you don't like it, you shouldn't wear such flattering skirts to work."

Mary's head was starting to spin from Matthew's attentions. She was only just aware that he had said something. "What?" She asked breathily. Feeling Matthew chuckle against her neck, she realised that he'd managed to distract her yet again. "I hate you." She complained softly.

Matthew lifted his head to look at her. "That reminds me, could you please refrain from telling everyone in the office that you hate me?" He knew he probably deserved it, from the way that he spoke to her in front of their colleagues, and he liked the contrast between their public relationship and private relationship, but he didn't want people's good opinion of him to be swayed by Mary's hate-mongering.

"I've never told anyone that I hate you." Mary responded, her face the picture of innocence.

Matthew raised his eyebrows at her. "Martin said you told him that you hoped I made a mistake in my work for the Argentinian bank and got extradited there."

Biting back her laughter, Mary replied serenely, "That doesn't necessarily mean I hate you. Martin's always jumping to conclusions." She affectionately ran his tie through her fingers.

A knock on the door prevented Matthew from responding. "Come in!" He called, breaking apart from Mary.

Toni, the air-headed PA, breezed in clutching a parcel. "This just arrived for you. Jimmy's on a coffee break so I thought I'd bring it in to you. I didn't want you to miss something important!" She giggled (at what, Mary had no idea) and batted her eyelashes at him.

"Great," Matthew smiled at her before setting about opening the parcel, "thanks, Tina."

Mary stifled her laughter at the poor girl's crestfallen face. After Toni closed the door, she informed Matthew what her name was.

"I know," Matthew said, glancing up from the masking tape that he was wrestling with, "and I _also_ know that you dislike the amount of attention she gives me." He winked at her.

Mary wanted to show him how much she appreciated his intentional faux-pas, but stopped herself when she heard him curse under his breath.

"What is it?" She asked.

"This is the bundle of documents that we posted to court. It's got sent back to me." Matthew ran a hand through his hair. "Bloody Jimmy must have written the wrong DX number on it again." He walked around to his desk and pressed a button on his phone.

Mary listened to him sternly address his PA, asking him to visit his office at once. Unbeknownst to Matthew, this side of him really…turned her on. He was always known for being kind and good-hearted, a rarity among the partners in their firm, but it was the stronger, more assertive aspects of Matthew's personality that Mary found most alluring.

The complacent PA came swaggering into the office. He was only a year younger than Matthew, and felt it was beneath him to 'serve' someone his own age, as Mary had overheard him say when he was asked why he took so little interest in his work. _Either that_, Mary thought, _or you're just shit at your job_.

"Jimmy, I asked you to send these out yesterday." Matthew explained, holding up the papers. Jimmy took a moment to recognise what they were, then nodded. "You addressed them incorrectly. As I explained to you, these are really important documents- they need to be at court _today_. You need to arrange for a courier to take them over. Now."

"Yeah, sure." Jimmy said nonchalantly, clearly not understanding why it was such a big deal.

"And can you please be more careful next time?" Matthew asked, knowing that this conversation probably wouldn't make any difference to his PA's enthusiasm towards his job.

"Yeah." The young man shrugged as he took the bundle from Matthew and left.

"I can't believe he managed to get a degree." Matthew shook his head in disbelief as the door closed. He didn't notice Mary eyeing him up until she walked over to him, a naughty look in her eyes. "What do you want?" He smirked, thinking he could probably guess the answer.

"You." Mary said seductively, slipping one arm under his blazer as the other rested on his chest. She began slowly kissing her way from his neck to his mouth.

"Mary!" Matthew exclaimed in mock-outrage. "Not in the office, surely?"

Mary rolled her eyes as she continued her exploration of his throat (if only that damn collar wasn't in the way). She knew Matthew was absolutely in favour of fooling around in the workplace. Their very first tryst had been in his office, in fact. As had their second. And third. "I think you're forgetting that you're the one who groped me in public, minutes ago." She mumbled against his jaw.

Matthew grinned. "By the way, did you like the flowers?" He asked, his hands stroking her back.

"Yes, they're beautiful, thank you. I didn't appreciate you reprimanding me about them in front of Annabelle, however." Mary narrowed her eyes at him as she pulled back. His mischievous smile set her back on course, though, and she leaned in to kiss him while her hand moved down his chest, over his stomach, and slid below his belt buckle…

Matthew grabbed her hand before it could reach its intended destination. "Woah, Mary. What's gotten into you?" Mary was never the one to initiate hanky-panky in the office; she was a fairly new associate, whereas he was a partner (and was therefore more indispensable). If they were caught and the firm decided to take any action, it would most likely be her neck on the line.

"I want you." Mary replied simply, pushing her chest against him in the way she knew aroused him, and gazing into his eyes in the way she knew he couldn't resist. She inwardly congratulated herself on her victory as Matthew extricated himself from her arms, quickly ran over to lock the door, and turned back to return to her as he shrugged his blazer off.

_A/N: fairly pointless, I know, but I felt the urge to write it. Also, I'm actually currently training to become a City solicitor myself, but I tried not to mention anything too boring/confusing in the story! _


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: wow, thanks so much for the positive response! I really haven't planned what I'm going to do with this story- this chapter sort of just tumbled out of my head and onto the page. Let me know what you think!_

Throwing his blazer on his office floor, Matthew rushed over to Mary and picked her up. She immediately pulled his head to hers and wrapped her legs around his waist, again enjoying the feel of his arms around her buttocks as their tongues found each other.

Matthew moved towards his desk, intending to lay Mary down on it, but then realised that there were too many things covering it (including his precious laptop). Changing his mind, which was very much clouded with desire, he turned and inelegantly laid her down on the thin carpet.

"The floor, Matthew? Really?" Mary asked as Matthew's mouth turned its attention to her throat. "You have a perfectly good sofa in here. Why would you- Matthew! Stop!" She gasped, batting him away when she felt his teeth on her neck. "I can't walk out of your office with a love-bite!"

"Then stop complaining." Matthew said simply, leaning down to kiss her cleavage as his hands unbuttoned her shirt. Mary moaned at the sensation, the anticipation instantly dissolving her discomfort at being on the hard floor. She began to squirm underneath him at the feel of his lips and tongue through her lacy bra and his hands roaming her now bare stomach. Beginning to worry that Jimmy might knock on the door asking for help, she decided to try and push things along.

"Matthew," she whispered throatily, "_now_." That was as articulate as she was able to be at that moment. To emphasise her point, though, she curled her legs around him, lifting her hips to meet his.

Matthew was almost undone at the desperate tone of Mary's voice. He hastily undid his belt and trousers and slid his hands beneath her skirt.

…

"Why is it that I always have to re-dress more than you do?" Mary asked as she finished doing her buttons up and began tucking her shirt into her waistband.

"I always find that it's much more fun to undress you than it is to undress myself." Matthew said slyly. He walked over to where she was perched on his desk and pulled up one of her stockings that had slipped down. He loved that she wore stockings- these sheer black ones were his favourites.

"Stop it." Mary warned with a smile, pushing away his fingers that had begun to drift up her leg.

"Sorry. I can't seem to help myself." Matthew said flirtatiously. His eyes, now at their most brilliant blue, bored into her, making her flush.

"Come to my place tonight?" She asked somewhat timidly. While their…_interactions_ had been going on for over a month now, they tried to limit the amount of time they spent together outside of the office. Their attraction to each other was undeniable (the regularity of their 'interactions' was a testament to this) and neither of them even considered seeing anybody else, but they'd both agreed that it would be best if they didn't formally label themselves as 'boyfriend and girlfriend'. They were concerned that a fully-fledged relationship might interfere with their work-life too much, and make it a more difficult secret to keep, as opposed to a mere series of sexual encounters. This rule had been breached a few times, however, including last night; Matthew had claimed that Waitrose had processed his online order incorrectly and had accidentally delivered too many groceries. He'd asked if Mary would join him for dinner to help him use them up before they expired, thinking this was a believable excuse to spend more time with her. Mary had agreed (only as a favour to him, of course- nobody should have to face the burden of unwanted groceries alone) and gratefully received a plateful of the most delicious spaghetti Bolognese she'd ever tasted. And then, naturally, one thing had led to another…

"I'm not sure I'll be able to, I'm afraid. Gary wants to have a chat with me after the department meeting, and then I need to stay behind so that I can call Los Angeles, which will probably take a while." Matthew felt bad when he noticed Mary's dismayed expression. "But I'll let you know if I manage to sneak away early." He promised, earning a smile from Mary.

"OK. I'll see you in the meeting this afternoon, then." Mary pressed one hand to his cheek as she kissed his lips.

"See you then." Matthew smiled as he watched her open the door to leave, but then sighed when he saw a confused-looking Jimmy about to walk in.

…

"So, now for the exciting part." Gary announced after thirty minutes of discussion about more efficient methods of due diligence, followed by ten minutes about how best to calculate billable hours. Gary was a senior partner of the firm, and the head of the corporate department in which Matthew and Mary worked. "I received a call from the Rome office on Monday. As I'm sure some of you have heard, Italy's largest fashion house, Carlozi, is hoping to acquire a leading perfumery and a leading cosmetics brand. They informed me that they have an opening in their team for one of our lawyers to help work on these deals."

Mary had instantly perked up at the mention of Carlozi, and she'd almost exploded upon hearing that she might get to work with them (albeit on a corporate deal). They were one of her favourite designer brands- she was wearing a pair of their shoes right now, for heaven's sake! Matthew's attention, too, had been caught by this announcement and he'd immediately glanced over at Mary, smiling at her enthralled expression. He'd found out just how much she loved Carlozi's garments a couple of weeks ago, when he'd casually complimented her on her dress (as he picked it up from his office floor) and asked where it was from. He'd had to patiently sit through a five-minute sermon on the wonders of their autumn/winter collection.

"Now, this is a heavy project, and it will involve a lot of hard work. Don't think that a trip to Rome will be one big holiday and bunga-bunga parties with Berlusconi." The room sniggered. "Therefore, we will need to take our time to consider who is best-suited for the role. The position requires you to be in Rome from late October until mid-January, roughly. But it could be longer- you all know how unpredictable these big deals can be. And God knows Italians aren't the best time-keepers." Gary muttered, prompting more sniggering. "So if you will be unable to commit to those dates, please let me know as soon as possible, so we can narrow down the pool of candidates. You'll find out who is chosen in just under two weeks. Any questions?" Gary paused to survey the room. "No? Alright, I think that's everything then, thank you all." He dismissed the room.

As excited as she was about the prospect of being picked for the deal, Mary hurried back to her desk, knowing she still had a dozen emails to attend to which she didn't want to leave until tomorrow morning.

"Matthew, shall we step into my office?" Gary said quietly to the younger man, as the last few lawyers left the room.

"Yes, of course." Matthew said. "I'm afraid I can't stay too long, though- I have a call to make to Los Angeles." He lied. Technically, the call could be made at any time that evening, but Matthew wanted to get it out of the way as soon as possible, so that he'd be able to go and visit Mary. It had been a while since he'd been in her bed.

"No problem, it won't take long." Gary replied. Matthew followed the middle-aged man into his large office. "I'll cut to the point, then. I want you to decide who to send over to the Rome office."

Matthew's eyes widened. He'd only joined the firm three months ago, and he was exceptionally young to be a partner, aged only twenty-seven. He certainly did not expect to be given such a big responsibility so soon. "Me?" He asked stupidly.

"Yes, you. The other corporate partners will be swamped with work over the coming months, and they've already told me that they won't be able to spare any of their associates. So it will have to be someone from your team. Lucy will be on maternity leave from November, so that rules her out. Which means your choice is from Dawn, Martin, Mary and Joe."

Matthew's eyes widened even further as he realised what this responsibility would entail. He gulped.

"It'll have to be someone experienced enough that they can handle the work, but junior enough that they can be dispensed with here. I know you're relatively new here so you'll have to compile some kind of portfolio on each of them and review their work. Does that sound OK?" Gary asked rhetorically. It didn't really matter whether Matthew found it 'OK' or not- he was going to have to make the decision.

"Er…yes, that sounds fine." Matthew said, trying to sound confident. "Thanks, Gary." _Yes, thanks very much for putting me in the position of having to choose between my pseudo-girlfriend and my more experienced colleagues_.

"Brilliant. I need a decision by next Friday." Gary turned back to his computer, effectively dismissing Matthew.

Matthew left the office and practically ran into his, hoping to avoid Mary. _Maybe I won't be going to her place tonight_, he thought.

_A/N: so I've apparently turned this into another multi-chapter fic. It probably won't be too long, though. Would you guys prefer more fluff? Or are you happy for there to be a bit of tension?_


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: so it seems like pretty much all of you want this to be a light fic, with any tension quickly dissolving into fluffiness. That suits me fine! I've therefore decided to make this more silly than serious…_

…

The next morning, Matthew arrived at the office much earlier than usual. He'd not been able to sleep much, given that his mind had been running through the pros and cons of choosing Mary to go to Rome over the other candidates. Unable to reach any sort of conclusion, he'd decided to get out of bed and go into work, hoping that being physically near the desks of the candidates may somehow enable him to make the correct decision. The plan didn't seem to be working, however. _Probably because there'd been no logic to it at all_, he told himself.

His jumble of thoughts was interrupted by his office door opening and shutting swiftly, and an enchanting-looking Mary breezing into the room.

"What are you doing here?" Matthew asked in shock, wishing she'd stop hurrying towards him so that he could fully appreciate her form in her figure-hugging outfit. Mary was never at work this early- _nobody_ was ever at work this early! The office had been completely empty when Matthew had arrived.

"I saw that you were here so I thought I'd take advantage of the empty office and come to visit you." She explained as she climbed into his lap, hooking an arm around his shoulders and kissing him deeply.

Taking a moment to recover from all the licking and sucking that had just happened to his mouth, Matthew leaned back to look at her questioningly. "How did you know I was here?" Mary was probably the most astute person he'd ever met- she could give Sherlock a run for his money- and he liked to find out her methods of obtaining information whenever he could.

"I went into the kitchen and saw that your mug was missing." She pointed her head towards the mug on his desk, already drained of its coffee.

"Impressive." Matthew raised his eyebrows, slightly less afraid of her capabilities now that he'd learned it was something fairly simple which had given him away.

"I am rather clever." Mary said haughtily.

"Well if you're so clever then you would have realised that I wasn't asking you what you were doing in _my_ office, but what you were doing in the office at all." Matthew replied, equally condescending.

"Actually, that's probably your fault for not making yourself clear enough, but you're still quite new here so I'll give you another chance to catch up with the rest of us." Mary pressed on before Matthew could retort. "I thought I'd come in early so that I can get ahead with work. I figured that the Rome-selection committee, whoever it is, would want someone who's hard-working, so it seems like a good idea for me to demonstrate my diligent nature." She explained.

"That is a sensible idea." Matthew nodded slowly. It would make life a lot easier for him if Mary showed that she was in fact the ideal candidate, but in all honesty, a few days' overtime may not be enough to justify him choosing her.

"Who do you think decides?" Mary asked, as she loosened his tie (she hadn't come in here just to chat, after all).

Matthew gulped nervously. "Decides what?" He stalled, trying to think up a suitable fib.

"Decides who goes to Rome, you fool." Mary began unbuttoning his shirt.

"Oh…I don't know." _There's that genius legal brain that made you partner of the firm aged 27_. Noticing her give him a curious look, he quickly added, "Let's not talk about work." Smiling, he ran his hand up her leg until it disappeared beneath her skirt.

…

Later that morning, Matthew was sat working at his desk when he received an email alert on his laptop. Clicking on his office mail he saw that Gary's assistant - one of the rare competent assistants on their floor - had emailed regarding the work portfolios of the associates who were in the running for Rome.

Matthew rapidly skimmed over it, just enough to see what it was about, before turning back to his papers. He'd been suddenly inundated with work and didn't want to be distracted by any emails unless they were of the utmost importance. To be fair, though, he would've been able to make some sort of a dent in his workload if he hadn't spent an hour 'not working' with Mary. His forehead wrinkled in concentration as he tried to decipher the opaque legal jargon.

He looked up from his desk a couple of minutes later when there was a knock at the door. He was tempted to ignore it, but decided not to. "Yes?" He called.

Joe, one of the associates in his team, poked his head round the door. "Hi, sorry to bother you." He began.

"No worries, what can I help you with?" Matthew asked with a small smile. Joe was about the same age as Matthew, and was a genial, likeable young chap. He'd been one of the few people who'd made an effort to get to know Matthew when he'd joined the firm- everyone else either shunned him as the ludicrously young and slightly self-righteous partner (Mary had fallen into this category), or had only been nice to him because they fancied him (Toni still fell into this category).

"I just wanted to say that I'm pretty snowed under at the moment, but I'll try and get my portfolio to you by tomorrow lunchtime."

Matthew was rather startled. "How do you know about the portfolios?" He asked. The idea had only passed between Gary and himself!

"The email just went round about it…" Joe explained, wondering why his usually on-the-ball boss seemed so confused.

Panic set in. "That's fine, thanks." Matthew said abruptly, turning to his laptop and clicking on the email again. Joe took this as his cue to leave. "Shit." Matthew said to the empty room.

_Dear all,_

_In order to assist in the decision regarding the placement in Rome, please compile a portfolio of your work at the firm thus far, disregarding your training period. Please find attached a document summarising the format and the information to be included._

_Once completed, send your portfolios on to Matthew Crawley for review, preferably by close of business today. _

_Kind Regards,_

_Gary Jones._

Matthew checked who the email had been sent to- Dawn, Martin, Joe and …Mary. The message made it rather clear that he was the one who would be casting the decision. Leaping up from his desk, he bolted through his office door and down the corridor to Mary's office. He half-heartedly knocked, to maintain some sense of decorum, as he threw the door open. Dawn whisked round in her chair, expecting to see Mary in one of her fire-breathing moods again.

"Oh, Matthew. Was there something I could help you with?" Dawn asked sweetly, turning in her chair to give him her full attention.

Matthew narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously – she was never this polite. _Oh God_, he thought_. It's going to be like this until next Friday, isn't it? My team sucking up to me 24/7_. "Where's Mary?" He asked, seeing that her chair was empty.

"She just popped out." Dawn replied.

"Where?" He prayed that she hadn't stormed out of the office in a rage, upon reading the email.

"To the stationery cupboard…" Dawn was bemused at Matthew's urgency. He was usually so calm!

"When did she go?" Matthew realised he was coming across rather strangely, so tried to sound as disinterested as possible.

"About five minutes ago." She replied, perplexed at this entire line of questioning.

"You're in my way, Matthew." Came a disgruntled voice from behind him. He turned around to see Mary struggling to carry eight lever-arch folders in her arms. He darted out of the way, relieved to see that she hadn't yet read the email. If she had, one of those folders would undoubtedly be embedded in the back of his head by now.

"Dawn, I think Lucy said she needed help with a pro bono case that she's taken on." Matthew said. "Could you go over now and see what she wants?" He asked, knowing that, in her efforts to impress him, she wouldn't refuse. As expected, Dawn obliged, albeit reluctantly. He closed the door behind her and looked back to Mary, who was trying to settle the folders down on her desk without causing too much damage. "Here, let me help." Matthew offered, walking over to her. He positioned himself behind her so that she was in between him and her desk- which had her laptop on it. A quick glance confirmed to Matthew that the email was in fact unread. Now all he had to do was try and get rid of it…

"I didn't know Lucy was doing pro bono work." Mary said, having finally arranged the folders.

"She's not. She's not even in today. I just wanted to see you." Matthew smiled, spinning her around so that her back was now to her laptop.

"Matthew, it's only been two hours! You're like a horny eighteen-year-old." Mary whispered teasingly.

"I only wanted a kiss." Matthew pulled out the puppy-dog eyes. He wasn't lying anymore, at least- he could do with a kiss from Mary at any time of day.

Mary decided to humour him, especially as she stood to gain from it too.

Matthew tried to keep his eyes open so that he could sneakily reach behind her and delete the email, but it was pretty difficult to focus on anything else when he could feel her arms slide under his blazer, her warm body pressed against him and her delicious mouth on his. Trying to think of something wholly unsexy so that he wouldn't give into the kiss (he settled on David Cameron), he managed to send the email to her trashcan.

Wary that Dawn was likely to return at any moment, Mary broke away. "You should probably go." She said softly, dreamily gazing into his eyes.

"I probably should." Matthew was slightly unnerved at the look she was giving him- but in a good way. He always caught himself looking at her in a way that was incongruous with their whole 'casual' relationship, but he'd presumed that it was just him. Seeing her look at him in the same way seemed significant.

"Thanks for stopping by." Mary gave him one of her irresistibly naughty smiles.

"Anytime." Matthew smirked, leaning in for another kiss (which he could properly enjoy, this time).

…

After leaving Mary's office, Matthew made his way to the assistants' pool.

"Toni, could I ask you a favour?" He said quietly enough so that the others wouldn't hear. The young girl looked up at him with almost the same dreamy-eyed expression that Mary had just had. Swallowing uncomfortably at the girl's obvious desire for him, he asked, "If I email you a message, could you send it to Mary in a new email? And don't mention that it's from me. It's confidential and she's not meant to know its source." He explained, realising that he didn't make much sense but that Toni probably wouldn't care.

"Of course!" Toni nodded enthusiastically, her high ponytail bobbing up and down. "Is there anything else you need?" She smiled coyly.

Matthew supposed that the average boss would be taking advantage of all these people sucking up to him, but it actually made him feel quite uneasy. "No, that'll be all. I'll send the message to you now." He smiled at her gratefully before stepping away.

"OK, thanks for asking me!" Toni said stupidly, obviously brimming with happiness that Matthew had chosen her to carry out such an important task.

"Er…you're welcome…" Matthew replied uncertainly.

Back at his desk, he sent Toni the following message:

_Dear Mary,_

_It appears that you were omitted from an email which circulated earlier today- apologies. Please compile a portfolio of your work at the firm, disregarding your training. Attached is a document detailing the required format and information to be included. _

_Once completed (preferably by close of business today), please leave the portfolio with me, and I will pass it on for review for the Rome placement. _

_Kind regards,_

_Toni Hunningford_.

He instructed Toni to hand the portfolio in to him upon receiving it from Mary. He'd chosen Toni for three reasons- firstly, he knew that she'd willingly fulfil his requests; secondly, she wasn't his assistant so Mary wouldn't suspect his involvement; and thirdly, Mary disliked Toni enough that she wouldn't try and extract information from her about the Rome decision.

Sighing, he leant back in his chair. He didn't like messy situations.

…

_A/N: neither do we, Matthew! I know the whole boss/employee relationship is a bit controversial, but like I said, I don't want this to be taken too seriously. I haven't decided where this fic is going yet, so it may be a while before another update. Let me know your thoughts!_


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: hello! I hope you don't dislike me too much for leaving this story for SO long. It's not that I'd forgotten about it, but I'd just been stuck for a long while about how to proceed with the plot. So I've decided to deal with this problem by just avoiding the main plot in this chapter…_

_Thanks so much for all the reviews and for letting me know of your continued interest in the story. To be honest, I would have probably just given up on this if it wasn't for you guys so kindly showing your interest in it! Also, this part of this chapter was inspired by a scene in The Line of Beauty. See if you recognise it! Xxx_

…

Janet Breeman was not a boss you'd want to find yourself on the wrong side of. For that reason, the entire office felt obliged (purely for self-preservation purposes) to attend an event marking the twenty-fifth year of their managing partner's service to the firm. Janet Breeman - who had been given the not-so-affectionate nickname, 'the Demon' – had chosen the modest, inexpensive option of Claridge's to hold the event in. While they criticised her arrogance and delusions of grandeur, and resented the fact that they'd effectively been forced to work doubly hard the next day to make up for the time lost in attending the party, the legal staff were pleased to be able to drink and dine for free in such a plush location.

Now, dinner was over and the attendees had moved into the area designated for 'mingling' and, later, some dancing. The awfully mellow jazz band had just begun preparing its dance tunes in the corner of the large room. Drink in hand, Matthew walked over to where Mary was stood talking to a couple of her male colleagues. He wasn't jealous of them, he told himself. Nor did he feel any particularly desperate need to speak to her. Of course not. But he was a partner in her department and it would be rude of him to pass the evening without speaking with her.

"How's it going?" He smiled, his ego boosted by the light which sparked in her eyes upon seeing him.

"As well as it can be, given that I'm at an enforced social event with colleagues." Mary murmured drolly, out of ear-shot of her companions. "I loathe these things." She added for good measure.

Matthew chuckled. "Surely not all of your colleagues can be that bad?" He asked innocently, though there was an unmistakeable tone of flirtation in his voice.

"Hmm, I suppose one or two of them are bearable." Mary replied, suppressing a broad smile.

Chris, one of the senior associates, ambled over to the small group, pointing vigorously in the direction he'd just come from. "Did you see – Martin's just bitten through his champagne glass to impress Jennifer!" He gasped out through his hysterical laughter, tripping over his own foot. "What an idiot!" He spat, obviously unaware of the effects that his own glasses of champagne had had on his speech and gait.

"I'm not even surprised." Joe, one of the lawyers in Matthew and Mary's team, commented wryly. "Martin's fancied her for months." He immediately looked to Mary and rolled his eyes at their mutual colleague, as if sharing an inside joke with an intimate acquaintance.

"Would Jennifer be impressed by that kind of thing? Would anyone be?" Matthew queried. He had always approached women in the 'old-fashioned' way – that is, by simply explaining his attraction to them and tentatively asking them out in such a manner that they don't feel obliged to accept. He wasn't aware of these more modern initiatives and displays of strength to entice women. His relationship with Mary thus far was most certainly not old-fashioned, but he had approached her in his usual way – she'd simply accepted his shy flirtations and jumped ten steps ahead of him.

"Probably not, but then Martin's not in the best state of mind at the moment, is he?" Joe answered.

"He's absolutely hammered!" Chris practically shouted, even though his companions were no more than two feet away from him. Matthew noticed Mary wince and shut her eyes briefly, no doubt willing her patience to last longer. She wasn't a fan of drunken men with little or no spatial awareness.

"What would it take, then? To impress a woman like you?" One of the other associates, Jonathan, asked Mary, failing to conceal the fact that he was gawking over her in her pale pink fitted dress.

"I'm not sure." Mary replied nonchalantly, but Matthew could tell that she was irritated by the man's ogling – at least, he _hoped_ she was irritated by it.

"Come on, there must be something!" Another man – who seemed to have appeared from nowhere – pressed, and Matthew suddenly realised how many of the men in the office harboured some form of desire for Mary. He couldn't blame them, of course.

As she was thinking of a way to rid herself of all these leering men, an idea popped into Mary's head. Here was an opportunity to entertain herself, and it would be an awful shame to let it go to waste. Glancing around her for inspiration, she settled on the option which would probably be most amusing. "You know, I think I'd be rather impressed if any one of you managed to dance with Janet tonight." She addressed the group. She knew it was a ludicrous suggestion – Janet was one of those people who seemed allergic to smiles or light-heartedness. "_Very_ impressed, actually." She emphasised, raising an eyebrow somewhat suggestively.

The men scoffed, although they were intrigued. "Dance with Janet? She'd never agree to it!" Chris blurted out.

"Well, yes, that's why I'd be impressed if you managed to do it." Mary said as patiently as she could, although the disdain and sarcasm in her voice were apparent. Sensing her male colleagues were reluctant to attempt such a feat, she added, "I think it would show courage, charm and a sense of daring – and that's all girls want, really. It's certainly what I look for in a man." She employed one of her famous coquettish smiles to dazzle the group. That sealed the deal.

"Right." Joe quickly drained his glass of its wine and resolutely set it down on the nearby table, ready to spring into action. The other men made similar gestures of determination – buttoning their dinner jackets, clearing their throat – before they all dispersed, in search of the managing partner. All except for Matthew.

"You're a little Devil, aren't you?" He reprimanded in his teasing way, enjoying the mischievous side to Mary and the thrilled glint in her eye.

"I think I'm allowed to have a little fun." She defended herself. "Besides, they're the ones who insisted on being given a task to perform."

Matthew shook his head in amusement. "Poor chaps. How will they feel when they incur the wrath of Janet and then realise that they were nothing more than a puppet to you?"

"I wasn't lying when I said I'd be impressed if they managed it." Mary said coolly. "It would take a lot of courage to put your job – and your dignity – on the line like that."

"It would take courage." Matthew agreed. "Although, I suspect in the case of most of those men, it will be Dutch courage." He remarked, taking delight in Mary's laughter.

About thirty minutes later, Matthew was wandering aimlessly around the grand ballroom. He and Mary had spoken for a few minutes but he'd been drawn into a huddle of partners who were discussing the firm's strategy, and so their conversation had been ended abruptly. It was probably for the best – they were always wary of being seen together too much. Being seen to be enjoying each other's company in full view of the entire office could be quite dangerous.

Matthew raised his eyebrows and smiled in acknowledgement at a few familiar faces as he passed by them – his way of remaining polite while avoiding having to speak to them. His attention was caught by the sight of both Chris and Joe lingering around the settee where Janet was seated alongside a couple of other senior partners. She was currently oblivious to the associates' presence, but Matthew could see that they were each intending to make their move soon. Matthew's first reaction was to laugh inwardly at them, take a seat and eagerly anticipate their doomed attempt at wooing the Demon onto the dancefloor. His next reaction, however, was one of mild alarm; what if either of them were successful in their quest? What if they actually convinced Janet to twirl around with them in the centre of the room, and won Mary's admiration? Or even if they didn't manage to persuade her to dance, it seemed that merely being bold enough to ask would be enough to impress Mary.

Before he knew what was happening, his legs had started carrying him towards the VIP settee. Not letting himself think too much, for fear that rational thought would eliminate his bravery, he situated himself directly in front of Janet, with what he hoped was a charming, if somewhat nervous, smile on his face.

"Yes, Matthew?" Janet said, and Matthew wondered if the questioning lilt was due to the fact that she wasn't sure what his name was, rather than to ask him what he wanted.

"Hi, Janet." Matthew said stupidly, saying anything to give his mind precious time to think of how to broach the topic of dancing in front of all her staff. "I just wanted to personally convey my congratulations." He smiled again.

"Thank you." Janet said emotionlessly. Her eyes travelled up and down his body, as if surveying his attire, but Matthew felt as if his entire personality and life history were being critically and mercilessly assessed.

An awkward silence followed. Matthew felt the eyes of the senior partners on him, trying to deduce whether he was crazy or just stupid, and the eyes of Chris and Joe on him, silently thanking him for sparing them the chance to humiliate themselves. He gulped.

"I wondered…" Beads of perspiration were forming on his brow. Janet didn't even raise an eyebrow. Her countenance was pure stone. He had to say something – to walk away now, mid-sentence, would be worse. Or would it? "Erm..." Matthew cleared his throat uncomfortably, his mind registering the pained cringes and ashamed glances at the floor of those nearby. Yet Janet remained emotionless, her eyes trained on him and seemingly unblinking. "I wondered if you'd like to dance with me?" He blurted out as smoothly as possible.

The people surrounding him almost choked on the gasps they tried to internalise. Matthew's own breath was caught in his throat. Time seemed to stand still.

There had been times earlier on in his life when Matthew had asked women to dance with him, and he'd spent the time awaiting their answer by nervously shifting on his feet. Now, however, his body was so paralysed by fear that it was unable to manifest its awkwardness in such a way.

"Yes."

Janet's reply was so calm and so unexpected that nobody registered its existence until a few moments later. Several heads spun around to look at her, to check that she had indeed answered in the affirmative.

"I'm sorry?" Matthew asked incredulously. He'd been expecting a much more hostile reception.

"You know, it has been a while since I last danced." Janet declared, gathering her floor-length dress as she stood up. She strode over to the area next to the band, giving Matthew no chance to brace himself for what he was about to do.

On the other side of the room, Mary heard some commotion and noticed many people gathering around the band. Curious, she made her way over to join them. The sight before her was one she'd remember for the rest of her life.

Matthew was in hold with the managing partner of the firm, waltzing her around the small dancefloor. He had a slight look of terror in his eyes, as if he was scared he might hurt her, or that she might suddenly burst into flames, but she appeared to be enjoying herself immensely. Picking up on the momentum of the crowd who were finding the scene very entertaining (albeit surreal) the band seamlessly changed their tune to a more up-tempo one. The crowd, now consisting of the whole office, began clapping along. Mary couldn't help but laugh as she shook her head in disbelief. An unexpected feeling of pride washed over her as she watched the audience marvel at what Matthew had managed to achieve. Her laughter grew as Matthew and Janet awkwardly stepped out of hold and tried to work out how best to dance to the new, faster song.

Matthew threw appealing glances to the crowd, willing them to join him on the dancefloor and help him out. Thankfully, a few other people made their way beside him and began dancing along. Janet, buoyed by the warm and enthusiastic reception she'd received for her efforts, happily continued to move around and dance with others in her office, whether she knew who they were or not.

Letting out a grateful sigh when he realised that Janet had fully turned her attention to a couple of associates, Matthew made his way out of the now crowded dancefloor, receiving numerous cheers and claps on the back as he did so. As pleased as he was that the atmosphere had picked up so much because of his actions, he couldn't help but notice that one person was absent from the mass of people gyrating to the music.

He spotted Mary a few metres away, lightly perched against one of the tables, her head angled to the side as she observed him with a mysterious smile on her face. He made his way towards her, faltering when he saw her move away and walk to the door. She threw him a look over her shoulder, letting him know that she wanted him to follow her.

Outside in the deserted corridor, Mary merely looked at Matthew with an approving twinkle in her eye. Feeling self-conscious at the intense attention he was receiving from her, Matthew cleared his throat and stuffed his hands in his pockets as he blushingly glanced at the floor.

"Impressed?" He asked with a shy chuckle. He'd clearly made himself popular amongst the rest of the office, but hers was the opinion that mattered most to him. He'd risked his reputation in pursuit of her admiration, after all.

"Very." Mary replied sultrily. She slid her arms around his waist and gently pushed him against the wall, her body completely pressed against his. "A man who can charm The Demon into waltzing and jiving in front of all of her inferiors is sure to have many other hidden talents." She said softly, placing kisses along his neck and throat.

"Erm…I'm not so sure about that." Matthew said with a dry voice, his concentration being diverted by the feel of Mary's soft mouth on his neck and the agonising pressure of her body on his. "_God_." He choked out, involuntarily banging his head back against the wall as he felt Mary's teeth close around a particularly sensitive area of his skin. The hardness of the wall behind him was a delicious contrast to the softness of her in front of him.

Mary laved her tongue over the skin to soothe it, before tilting her head upwards and taking his lips in hers. Matthew eagerly kissed her back, each kiss deeper and more urgent than the last.

"Take me home?" Mary mumbled into his mouth as she felt his large hands desperately clutching at her through her dress. Things were getting dangerously heated and their colleagues would no doubt be in search of them sometime soon.

"_Definitely_." Matthew breathed out.

…

"Do you feel like making me breakfast?" Mary asked cheekily, her fingers raking over Matthew's bare torso as he lay beside her.

This morning was a very significant one - it was the morning after the first night they'd spent together. Their 'dalliance' had so far consisted of a series of sexual encounters in the office, and the few instances which had taken place in their respective flats had never resulted in either of them staying the night. Last night, however, Matthew had been persuaded (fairly easily) that it was too late for him to travel back home and it would be most logical for him to stay over. In truth, neither of them had wanted the evening to end.

"Seeing as I'm a guest in your flat, I believe _you_ should be the one doing the cooking." Matthew retorted. "Besides, I don't really want to leave the bed. I'm rather enjoying the view." He smirked naughtily, his eyes drifting over Mary's naked form as she lay on her stomach, and reached a hand over to caress the skin which was so tempting to touch. There was an irresistibility about Mary which he'd never experienced with anyone before.

Surprisingly, Mary blushed at his comment. She'd never been coy or bashful about these things, but something about Matthew's attentions made her feel different. While they'd each characterised their relationship as a predominantly physical one thus far, that wasn't all there was to it; there was an emotional undercurrent emerging which brought out a different side to Mary.

"Well, we only have about an hour before we need to leave for work, so I'm afraid it's a choice between breakfast and 'the view', as you so romantically put it." She said drolly. She watched as Matthew began smiling mischievously.

"There's one other thing we could do in that time." He said quietly, the richness and seductiveness of his tone sending shivers over Mary's pleasantly warm body.

"What's that?" Mary asked with feigned innocence, her heart-rate fastening exponentially as Matthew moved closer.

"Let me show you." Matthew said lowly, moving himself on top of her as she turned to lie on her back.

"Oh, _that_." Mary smiled as Matthew began placing wet kisses down her neck and over her chest, his hands roaming her body. "You know, we could always eat now and do this in the office." She taunted, although her arms involuntarily wrapped themselves around Matthew's broad shoulders.

"Hmm. But there's something about being in your bed which is rather turning me on." Matthew replied, in a voice that made Mary decide not to waste any more time talking.

…

"Do you have a diffuser for this?" Matthew asked, carefully dabbing his wet hair with one of Mary's fluffy purple towels as he plugged in her hairdryer.

Mary raised her eyebrows at him amusedly. He'd already asked her for conditioner, spent thirty minutes in the shower (making them late for work), and now this! For a man who gave all the appearance of leading a modest lifestyle and being averse to materialism, he knew a great deal about hair products. "I think you're the first man I've met, and probably the last I'll ever meet, who even knows what a diffuser is." She teased, handing him the requested nozzle.

"I'm protective of my hair." Matthew pouted defensively.

"I can see that. And I'm sure all the female staff appreciate your efforts." Mary winked at him.

…

"I'll see you later, then." Matthew kissed Mary quickly and discreetly as the lift doors opened, waiting a moment before following behind her. It might raise suspicions if the two of them, never being late, arrived at the office at the exact same time.

He smiled as she glanced back over her shoulder before she disappeared from view, but his smile was a weary one. He didn't want to be in the office. This was the morning he'd been putting off for the last few days. The morning when he'd have to read through Mary's portfolio.

Stopping over in the kitchen to grab a mug of precious coffee, he walked into his office, shut the door and settled down in his chair. A fleeting temptation to defer this moment until later passed through his mind. But it was already Thursday, and Gary needed a final decision tomorrow. Matthew wouldn't be doing his job properly if he made the decision at the last minute, in haste - and he wasn't about to start shirking his responsibilities now, after years of careful diligence in his work.

Taking a deep breath and hoping for the best, he reached for the red folder sat on his desk.

…

_A/N: let me know what you think! Also, I know this is cheeky, but let me know if you have any ideas/thoughts as to how Matthew's predicament could be resolved! xxx_


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